"The case highlighted a fundamental dilemma for internet companies built on the booming freelance sector. Establishing some level of control over the workers who use their platforms is often essential to ensuring a consistent level of service.

But the further they go — for instance, by laying down standards of training or conduct — the more they lay themselves open to one day being forced to accept the full responsibilities of employers. For the California labour commissioner, Uber’s control of pricing, tipping, driver ratings and the type of car made it look like an employer."

"Disconnect said Google abused its dominant position in Europe’s mobile market to unfairly discriminate against Disconnect and favor its own privacy and security software. The moves limited Europeans’ access to competing privacy and security software, while letting Google and others track and collect Android users’ information for advertising, Disconnect said...The app maker alleged Google pulled Disconnect because the software disrupted Google’s tracking and advertising efforts, the source of most of the Internet company’s revenue and profit. In an email included in the complaint, a Play store employee said the app was removed because it prevented other apps from delivering ads....A Google spokesman called Disconnect’s claims “baseless.” Google has allowed more than 200 other privacy apps in the Play store, but blocks any apps that alter other apps’ functionality or remove their way of making money, he added, saying Google applies this policy uniformly, with strong support from Android developers...Google abused its dominance in mobile operating systems and the app market by “tying” its own software and security to those platforms, Disconnect said in its complaint. That gave its services an unfair advantage over Disconnect’s rival software, reducing competition and consumer choice in the market for privacy and security software, the developer said. Google’s removal of the app also illegally discriminated against Disconnect because Google’s own privacy and security software, which it includes by default in its Android operating system, isn't held to the same standards, Disconnect argued."